[wtxchick]

Okay, DD & I are finishing up LA Express tonight. I'll be super glad when this is over. I'm thinking about going to bed early just to get through to breakfast.

DD was put on the Orange Plan. She gets 2 1/2 Protiens, 3 Veggies, 3 Fruits, 3 Starches, 1 Dairy, 3 Fats, & 2 LA Lites. Her protien servings are 2 oz more than mine, but other than that, all other portion sizes are the same. She is extremely excited about getting started. She gained .4 on the LA Express which the counselor explained was very, very normal for teenagers. She told me that usually they gain because it is a "shock" to their system. Teens apparently don't eat a lot of meat and green veggies, I suppose.

I was put on the Gold Plan. That seems okay with me. I asked the gal to give me a rough calorie estimate for this one and she told me it ranged from 1500-1700 depending on the selections that I made.

We were given the song & dance about the LA Lites and I listened politely. Honestly, I don't really have a problem with them doing this. It reminds me of a time at WW when my leader told us that calcium-fortified instant oatmeal would not count as a dairy serving. Then, low and behold, WW comes out with a very expensive ($5 for 4) calcium-fortified oatmeal. Now, this one could count as dairy, but the cheaper one from the grocery store doesn't. It is just funny to me.

Now, I am also not sure about the whole Carb Craver thing. She told DD that all she had to do was drink an extra 16 oz. of water, but she told me I also have to have the Carb blocker. Now, my program doesn't actually say that. It reads verbatim what my DD does: "On days you choose to have a Carb Cravers meal, increase your water intake to 10 (8 oz) glasses to help prevent water weight gain."

I'm not sure what I think about that. I know when I was POP with WW in 2003, I was able to eat a lot more starches than I will on this program and I lost an average of 1.7 pounds per week. I don't know if I believe that I really need a supplement in order to eat a sandwich. Is this true?? Why would my DD body work differently than mine? Or, is it that they have to be a little more careful with teens?

Oh well, we are looking forward to breakfast. I'm off to study our plans!

Andi

PS. We did take home a ton of samples on the LA Lites. Which one first??

[deetsmom]

Sounds like you both are bound to do great- Im sure you will be posting about great losses soon! You got te variety box of Lites, right? My counselor suggested I cut them in half so I could try two at a time. I personally like the Chocolate Crunch..Double Chocolate is ok and once in awhile to break it up, I like a Caramel for the different texture, but they are TOO sweet, really. Good luck to yoU!

[wtxchick]

I also forgot to mention that I did lose 1.4 pounds - glad of that, but I'm not sure if it is "real" or water, but I suppose weight is weight.

No, we didn't get a variety box. She just gave each one of us a bag and told us to pick some out that we wanted to try. I got 9 of them - all but the fruit & oat bar & the double chocolate. Both looked unappetizing to me. DD only got 6, but she also got a strawberry shake.

Andi

[boyerm]

You don't need the Carb Enders--I ate carb cravers meals at least once a week on the gold plan, and I didn't take any of their supplements.

[vibrantecho]

I think, if I recall what other "chicks" have reported after logging their food on Fitday.com, gold is more like 14-1600 calories, not 15-1700.

I love my LA Lites, they've saved me from crashing my diet on more than one occasion. I pretty much stick with Chocolate Crunch, Double Chocolate and Honey Nougat exclusively - the Caramel ones taste delicious but I didn't like the texture of the crispies, too "fake", lol. Sometimes in the AM I'll warm my Honey Nougat bar up in the microwave for 10-20 seconds, just till the frosting gets gooey, and it's like snacking on a warm slice of spice cake. Awesome! Several of the gals on here substitute Luna bars for the Lites, but I'm not one of them, simply because I like the convenience of buying my Lites in bulk and picking them up at WI - it's less thinking than trying to remember to put them on the grocery list (and DH does most of the shopping in my house anyway, so who knows what he'd come home with!).

Regarding the Carb Enders pills with the Carb Cravers meals, I'd point out to them that it doesn't say anywhere in the plan materials that the supplement is required in order to use the CC options, and see what they say. Personally I think it's just a marketing ploy, and if it makes you feel better to use a starch blocker, you can check the active ingredients and pick up an identical product for much cheaper at any grocery store or Walmart.

Keep us posted on how your first week goes! Feel free to chime in with your updates on the monthly thread, too, as I think that's where a lot of us congregate and check first if we're short on time, so you may even get a wider variety of responses if you have questions.

[emmysmom]

I am also on the gold plan and I have never taken carb blockers. I usually have about one CC per week and just increase my water intake on those days. The counselors never even recommended the carb blockers to me. In my opinion, you don't need them.
Tina

[MetalChic]

When I was keeping up with my caloric intake on modified purple without lites, it was about 1200-1400 depending on selections.

[slimmerKim]

I don't buy anything from them except the smoothies - no bars, no supplements, nothing else. I've lost 30 lbs in less than 4 mos So it IS possible. I eat Luna or South Beach bars.

When I entered a few days in on fitday, my caloric intake was about 1200 (on gold). Congrats on the big plunge. I've read a lot of women joining w/ their daughters. My DD is 4, and my goal is to prevent a weight problem - not sure how hard that will be, but it IS a goal of mine